Skip to main content
NUTRITION 2023 Main banner
Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.
Back

Topical Area: Protocols

Protocols (Poster Session)

(P22-041-23) A Study Protocol: Targeted Metabolite Profiling and the Effect of Maternal Lean Fish Intake During Pregnancy and Infancy

Sunday, July 23, 2023
11:45 AM – 12:45 PM ET
Location: Poster Board 407
Disclosure(s):
Maria O'Keeffe, M.Sc: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.
Adrian McCann, PhD: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.


Objectives: Maternal diet and metabolic health during pregnancy are associated not only with the mother's health and pregnancy outcomes but also with the future health outcomes of the infant. Simultaneously there is an increase in global health challenges posed by malnutrition and obesity related chronic inflammation.

Lean fish is an important source of several nutrients that are essential for foetal and infant health, and the Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food and Environment has concluded that regular fish intake is associated with reduced risk of non-communicable diseases in the general population. However, the underlying mechanisms linking lean fish intake to health, remain poorly understood. In addition, there is growing concern about contaminants present in fish. This study will investigate the effect of lean fish intake during pregnancy on plasma biomarkers reflecting nutritional status, metabolic risk, oxidative stress and inflammation in mothers and their infants.

Methods: We will use data from the completed RCT, "Mommy's food" (https://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT02610959), which investigated the effect of 200 g of cod twice a week for 16 weeks during pregnancy (gestational week 20–36) on infant neurodevelopment up to 12 months. We will describe the maternal metabolite profiles at pre- and post-16-week lean fish intervention, and infant metabolite profiles at 3- and 6-months of age. The concentrations will be compared between the groups, and we will also examine the extent to which the effects of the intervention in the child are mediated through the interventions effect on the mother.

Results: N/A

Conclusions: The effect of fish intake on chronic disease risk is an important public health concern. This project will contribute to larger efforts to investigate the underlying metabolic mechanism linking fish intake to health outcomes, as has been called for by the World Health Organization. Data from this analysis could be used to inform dietary guidelines for fish intake during pregnancy.

Funding Sources: Innlandet hospital trust